TRENDING NOW:
Yesterday we brought you news of the official Chevy Volt song – Chevy Volt and Me. We had a few requests from international listeners to type up the lyrics to the song, so here you are! There is also an attached MP3 file of the song that you can download for your listening pleasure!
THE FUTURE SHOULD BE A BIG ADVENTURE
INSTEAD OUR WORLD IS UNDER PRESSURE
EVERYONE’S TALKING ‘BOUT MAKING A CHANGE
TO COST OF FUEL AND MILEAGE RANGE
TOGETHER WE FACE THIS NEW FRONTIER
WITH MYSTERIES TO SOLVE, OH DEAR
WHAT WILL GET US OUT OF FIRST GEAR?
A BETTER EV
NOT THAT’S A BIG IDEA(R)
E FOR ELECTRICIT, V FOR CHEVY VOLT AND ME
ELECTRIC CAR WITH A BATTERY IN CHARGE
E FOR ELECTRICITY, V FOR CHEVY VOLT YOU SEE
IT’S AS SIMPLE LIKE A DIMPLE, PLUG IT IN AND SEE
FROM THE FOLKS AT CHEVROLET
CHEVY VOLT IS ON ITS WAY
IT CAN MAKE A CLEANER WORLD
A GREENER CAR THAT POWERS ITSELF
YOU GET UP TO 40 MILES EMISSION-FREE CLEAN ENERGY
AFTER THAT BIO FUEL OR GAS WILL POWER YOUR JOURNEY
E FOR ELECTRICITY, V FOR CHEVY VOLT AND ME
EASIER THAT ONE TWO THREE, JUST PLUG IT IN AND SEE
E FOR ELECTRICITY, V FOR VEHICULARITY
THAT’S NOT A WORD, BUT IT’S OKAY CUZ VOLT COULD CHANGE THE WORLD SOMEDAY
VOLT RUNS CLEANER THAN GASOLINE
LESS POLLUTION FOR US TO BREATHE
CHARGE YOUR CAR RIGHT IN YOUR HOME – COSTS NEXT TO NOTHING
IT’S CHEAPER THAN YOUR PHONE
IT’S LEANER, IT’S GREENER, IT’S CHEAPER, IT’S CLEANER – WHETHER YOU’RE IN ALBUQUERQUE, QUEENS, OR PASADENA
E FOR ELECTRICITY, V FOR CHEVY VOLT AND ME
ELECTRIC CAR, WITH A BATTERY IN CHARGE
E FOR ELECTRICITY, V FOR CHEVY VOLT YOU SEE
EASY AS YOUR A B C JUST PLUG IT IN AND SEE
During a conference call last Saturday, Nick Reilly – the newly-appointed president of GM Europe – said that a new Mini car is a top priority for Opel / Vauxhall. If we understand correctly, that would mean something the size of a Ford Ka, Peugeot 107, Fiat 500, and the other dozen or so Mini cars in the European market (read: something approximately 140 inches / 3500 mm long).
While occupying a lower price point than compact or mid-size vehicles, Mini cars (aka City cars) may well make up for that in volume: the Ford Ka has solidified its position with over 500,000 units sold in the UK alone in the last 13 years, the Fiat 500 has been receiving accolades and awards all of Europe, while the forthcoming VW Up! is getting ready to take a piece of that space all to itself.
Today, Opel’s smallest car is the Corsa, which is based on the global Gamma II/SCCS platform that it shares with the upcoming Chevy Spark. Rumor has it that Opel will be getting a version of the Spark sometime after it goes on sale in the United States. Opel showed off the Trixx Concept (pictured) at the 2004 Geneva Motor Show, but GM ended up picking the Spark as its global City car.
As many GM fans may recall, Saturn briefly sold Opel’s Astra hatch in 3-door and 5-door variants in the U.S. The Saturn Astra, as it was called, is in a class above the Corsa, which itself is half of a class above the Chevy Spark and its future Opel variant. That was a mouthful, right? As such, there seems to be some confusion regarding the nomenclature of vehicle classes, since the names vary based on the country of origin. To clear things up, here’s a quick breakdown of the classes in their respective continents along with some examples of cars in those classes: (more…)
GM’s Chevrolet division is getting new leadership: Jim Campbell, who joined GM in 1988, has been named general manager of the bow-tie brand, effective immediately. In his previous assignment, Campbell was responsible for GM’s fleet and commercial business.
Susan Docherty, GM vice president of Sales, Service, and Marketing had the following to say about Campbell:
Jim has a strong track record of building relationships and partnerships with dealers and customers, and deep Chevrolet experience. His energy, drive for results and willingness to take risks are great assets for leading the growing global Chevrolet brand.
From that, what stands out most are “results” and “willingness to take on risks,” principles that Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre is trying to re-instill in The General. According to GM, Campbell “played important roles in many product launches, including the Chevrolet Impala, Monte Carlo, Colorado, and Corvette.” He also held “various positions in field sales, retail incentives, marketing and customer relationship management.”
Campbell replaces Brent Dewar, previously vice president of the global bow-tie brand, who has “elected to retire effective April 1, 2010 to dedicate more time to his family and to pursue personal interests.” Until April Fools’ Day hits, Dewar will “work closely with Campbell to ensure a smooth transition at Chevrolet.”
Dewar was put in charge of Chevrolet in July by former CEO Fritz Henderson. It’s not clear whether Dewar’s departure is in any way tied to the colossal management restructuring undertaken by Ed Whitacre last week; in other words, we don’t know if the relationship between Dewar and his newly-appointed colleagues had anything to do with him leaving. Rumor on the block, however, is that GM has been offering buyout packages to some executives and managers, so perhaps Dewar took advantage of the opportunity after his 31 years with the company. Susan Docherty said the following about Dewar’s departure:
During his 31 years with GM, Brent made a difference in multiple assignments, including key roles in Brazil and Europe, launching the award-winning American Revolution campaign and applying his environmental passion to drive the very successful gas-friendly to gas-free marketing strategy. We respect his decision to retire early next year to spend more time with his family, and want to thank him for all his contributions. He will be missed.
Look in any direction, and you’ll more than likely to see new management within GM. This means people who are new at their jobs, willing to learn, and – perhaps most importantly – yearning to succeed. I think this development is a good thing for the global Chevrolet brand and the rest of GM.
[Source: GM and Detroit Free Press]
Check out GM’s full press release after the break. (more…)
Rendering of upcoming Buick sedan at 2009 LA Auto Show
The 2009 LA International Auto Show has produced an interesting tid-bit about GM’s future product portfolio. For example, during a press conference for the recently-unveiled Buick Regal, a rendering of what looks to be Buick’s upcoming compact sedan flashed across the screen.
It’s widely expected that the confirmed Buick compact sedan (possibly named Verano) will share a lot of components with the new Opel Astra, while adding a proper trunk lid in the process. Last month, Buick’s China division unveiled the Buick Excelle XT hatch, which features a choice of two four-cylinder 1.6 liter engines (turbo and naturally aspirated) mated to a six-speed transmission. When the baby Buick makes its way to North American shores, expect it to come with the high-output 1.6 liter turbo, good for 181 horses and 173 lb-ft of torque.
But enough guessing: the sketch at the LA show presented the baby Buick with a proper trunk lid (read: sedan form, as opposed to the Astra’s hatchback design), a larger grille, restyled headlights, and the addition of hood-mounted portholes. These are all features that haven’t (yet) made it to the Chinese-market Excelle XT, so it looks like there may be some differences between the two products after all. Recently, some eagle-eyed spy photographers have caught the disguised Buick compact in Germany.
As I’ve mentioned before, GM’s long-term plan for Buick is to become a full-fledged global pure luxury brand. Although competitive, the current generation of Buick products such as the LaCrosse, Regal, and this upcoming Astra-based compact sedan are really stop-gap vehicles intended to establish the respective brand names. The next-generation of Buick vehicles will be more in line with GM’s goals of turning Buick into a pure luxury brand – as I will outline in an upcoming in-depth research report. Look for that in about a week.
In the meantime, check out the gallery of the Chinese-market Buick Excelle XT after the break. (more…)
Nine days ago, Michael Richards took over Susan Docherty’s old job as brand manager of Buick-GMC. Today, GM announced that he’s out. Here’s GM’s official statement written by Susan Docherty (who was recently promoted to vice president of Sales, Support, and Marketing of GM North America):
Buick GMC General Manager, Michael Richards, has elected to leave General Motors to pursue other career opportunities. We wish him the very best. A replacement will be announced in the near future.
The Detroit News is reporting that the official (yet still unofficial) reason behind Richards’ resignation is an enticing counter offer by his previous employer, Trinity Automotive, in Austin, TX. Also, little birdies have been letting us know that there’s more to this development than what initially meets the eye: take, for example, the recent resignation of 31-year GM veteran Brent Dewar from his post as chief of Chevrolet. Dewar was appointed to his post in July by ex-CEO Fritz Henderson who unexpectedly resigned/was ousted from GM December 1. Dewar was instantly replaced with Jim Campbell, Fleet and Commercial Operations manager for Chevy. It’s as if the Dewar-Campbell shuffle was… orchestrated!
As such, it seems fairly obvious that both Richards’ and Dewar’s sudden resignations are somehow related to Henderson’s departure. It can definitely be a strange feeling when the same guy that hired you, and with whom you agreed on so many issues, is packing up his office things into a brown box and walking out the building.
For the time being, Buick-GMC is left without anyone at the helm. Perhaps Carl-Peter Forster would care to take over this position? On the other hand, probably not – he resigned long ago.
Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre spent four hours this week at the Flint Assembly Plant visiting and talking to employees and walking the line. “I’ve been confined to the office. I just wanted to come up to Flint and see what’s here,” he said.
It was a very informal visit – Whitacre, wearing faded jeans and a casual brown pullover, passed on a formal business update and instead chose to mingle and chat with the people of the facility, saying, “If you don’t know me and I don’t know you, it’s not good. We’re in this together.” The plant received 24 hours notice that Whitacre was coming.
The CEO, who is described by fellow coworkers as genuine and goal-oriented, listened to employees and talked about the challenges and opportunities facing GM. He also encouraged them to “step up” and take risks, saying “Nothing is going to happen if you don’t do the right thing.”
Whitacre had the following to say when it came to questions of the company’s overall viability: “we’re sitting in a pretty good position to pull this (recovery) off. Not many companies get a second chance. If people are not optimistic, we will not get it done.”
Visits from CEOs and other top executives are fairly common in most organizations. What’s interesting here is that Whitacre chose to visit the plant informally – not to wear a suit and not have an official address or presentation that’s so commonplace today. Instead, Whitacre wore regular clothes and sat in on small chats with members of the assembly team, giving us the idea that he really just wanted to get a feel for the culture and environment of the plant and its team.
Many members of the press have criticized Whitacre for not being a “car guy” – saying that he doesn’t have enough experience in the auto industry in general. If this recent visit doesn’t show that he has a deep desire to learn and understand the GM machine from the inside, I don’t know what does.
On top of that, it must feel great as a member of the assembly team to have an unfettered conversation about the company you love and adore with “the man” himself, in person, at arms’ reach. This just works to raise the workers’ spirit, confidence in GM, and motivate them to do a better job!
Most recently, the Flint assembly plant received a $21 million investment from GM to build light-duty crew-cab pick-ups starting in mid-2010. It will build these on the same line as the plant’s current manufacture of heavy-duty GM trucks.
Check out the pictures of Big Ed at the Flint Assembly Plant!
Nope, we’re not turning into the tabloids – just reporting about all things GM. As can be expected, this 2009 Cadillac Escalade – the one Tiger Woods drove into a fire hydrant and then a tree in the wee hours of November 27, is heading to the shop for repairs. Interestingly enough, the Escalade isn’t owned by Woods, but is part of GM’s promotional fleet. Apparently, after the golfer’s endorsement contract with Buick ended last year, Tiger made a deal with The General to keep a few cars for personal use, including a Buick Enclave and this here Escalade – the same Caddy that received a wrecked front end and a couple of missing rear windows.
Since the Escalade is part of GM’s promo fleet, the automaker will get to decide its fate after repairs are finished: will it go back into the loaner fleet or be replaced by a new vehicle? If replaced, the newly-repaired Escalade will be pulled from rotation and auctioned off, where it would go to the highest bidder.
We can only imagine how high the bids will climb for the Caddy if GM put it up in its current mangled state. Although the likelihood of that happening is slim, leave it to today’s entrepreneurial minds to trace this vehicle’s VIN all the way to its final auction (in fixed form, of course), and then resell it as “Tiger’s Escalade.”
It’s also worth noting that Tiger picked the Escalade over the Enclave as his vehicle of choice. Perhaps he gave the Buick to his wife?
And now for some GM Authority trivia: what does Escalade actually mean? Here’s how the Oxford American Dictionary defines it:
the scaling of fortified walls using ladders, as a form of military attack.
And that’s all we’re going to say about this… for the time being.
[Source: Drive On, Photos: Florida Highway Patrol]
Viridian Joule has won the majority vote of the public to become the official name of the silvery-green color of the Chevy Volt. The lead color has become synonymous with the EV, making appearances at auto shows and on television programs all over the country. Here’s how the winner, David Thomas – from Sanford, Florida, described how he came up with the color:
I looked at the photo of the Volt on the contest web site and thought it looked emerald in color, which led to jewel and then to an alternate yet appropriate play on that word – joule (a unit of electrical energy).
The Oxford American Dictionary defines viridian as
a bluish-green pigment consisting of hydrated chromium hydroxide.
Knowing that makes much more sense now, doesn’t it?
Thomas was among the 27,000 people who submitted the name to GM’s ChevroletVoltage.com website between October 22 and November 5 (2009). More than 3000 people voted for the name. Viridian Joule beat out second-place “environMINT” by about 300 votes. “EV-ergreen” took third place.
As winner of the contest, David Thomas will be the first consumer to test-drive a pre-production Volt.
For any aspiring marketers out there, take note: this is what buzz marketing is all about. The GM enthusiast community is all aflutter about this news. And regardless of whether you personally like the name, the contest was nothing short of a success. By giving consumers the ability to determine the winner, Chevy got people to talk, think, and log onto the Chevy Volt site. Now that’s what I call engagement! But be careful – contests like these have the ability to take an unexpected (and unwanted) turn if not monitored properly: can you see someone (perhaps a competitor) submitting the name “iKrap EV?”
In my opinion, Viridian Joule is an aptly-named color with a perfect set of reasoning behind it!
Click past the break for a high-res gallery of the Volt, GM’s video on the color contest, and GM’s press release! (more…)
Update: the web chat has ended. We will be posting our podcast covering the event on Saturday, December 12, 2009. Look for it here.
After co-hosting a conference call with Susan Docherty on Tuesday (our analysis here, here, and here), GM’s Mark Reuss – the newly-appointed chief of GM’s North American division – will be hosting a webchat this Friday, December 11 from 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern time. As we did with the Tuesday’s call, we will be providing live coverage and audio commentary of the webchat on our LIVE page.
What do you want to ask Mark come Friday? Let us know in the comments and we’ll be sure to relay the question to him (the more people ask one question, the more likely he is to answer it).
For those not up to speed with the latest executive changes at GM: Reuss is a car guy who’s served as vice president of global vehicle engineering, president and managing director of Holden, and executive director at of GM Performance Division.
Click on the image to hear the Volt And Me song
Many of us associate certain companies with a particular attribute. Here are a few of my personal examples:
These brand attributes and associations are very important to companies. They spend million of dollars developing long-term brand campaigns and even more funds making sure these slogans, jingles, chimes, and other associations are implanted in our brains for years to come. So what does this have to do with Chevrolet, the Volt, or GM? Chevy Volt’s new song, Chevy Volt and Me.
According to Maria Roher, director of global marketing for the Volt:
Our goal is to craft that education [about the Volt] in a manner that is family friendly (as it should be because we are America’s original mass /heart brand), entertaining and simple to understand for a rather sophisticated product.
A Volt song helps us to achieve those objectives. ‘Chevy Volt and Me’ explains what Volt is all about as a better EV in simple friendly terms.
The two-and-a-half minute upbeat jingle definitely accomplishes the set-out goal: it’s super catchy and cheerful, and does a great job explaining (in very simple terms) what the Volt is and how it can benefit the environment and the consumer. I expect the song to spread like wildfire and become synonymous with the Volt for years to come. In fact, I can see the Chevy Volt and Me song getting a few sequels to tout the EV’s other features.
I’ve already got it stuck in my head after listening to it twice today, so beware! Click past the break to watch a slideshow set to the new tune.
[Source: GM-Volt.com] (more…)
Future Product Guide: GMC Vehicles For 2012, 2013, 2014 Model Years 
The 2014 C7 Corvette: What We Know 
Rumormill: All-New Chevy Silverado/GMC Sierra To Resemble Cheyenne Concept 
Spied: The All-New 2014 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Rumormill: 2014 Cadillac ATS-V To Come With 470 Horsepower? 
Rumormill: Next-Gen Lexus ES Will Make Buick LaCrosse "Laughable" 
C7 Corvette ZR1 Illustrated, Reportedly Dead Accurate 
Larry Hulsebus on Feature Spotlight: Here's How OnStar's RemoteLink App WorksGuess I'm just plain stupid. No I wasn't mislead by information or advertizing because there wasn't ...
H.P. on Chevy Shows Off Sonic Z-Spec Accessories Before New YorkPlease advise pricing for the Z Spec package on a Sonic.
(514) 595-5666 ex: 2229...
Syclone478 on If You Think The Chevy Sonic Sedan Looks Funny Now, You Should Have Seen It Before I would buy the sedan over the hatch, primarily based on looks. Kind of confused by the article titl...
danny on Community Question: What Kind Of Interior Combinations Would You Like To See In The Cadillac ATS?I would love to see a rich, textured fabric with leaher-trimmed bolsters..probably in wheat color a...
VetteGryl on Burnout Contest: Cadillac CTS-V Coupe VS Corvette Z06 Centennial Editionomg, I NEED one of those vettes!! need need neeeeeed...
Đụ má on Justin Bieber Drives A Cadillac CTS-V CoupeĐụ má ko làm từ thiện mà ăn chơi sa đoạ! Mẹ nó!...
carstuff on Dealer Orders Down For Chevy Volt And that would add $3000 to the price of the Volt and add hardly save any more money in fuel cost si...
by 
